Evictions Archive

February 2008 One serious problem with our state’s rent withholding law is that it causes fierce, vicious fights between landlords and their tenants. On top of that, since the law stops the eviction process, it often forces these fighting landlords and tenants to live in close proximity to each other. That can escalate the fighting [&hellip

Here you will find some of the many eviction horror stories we have profiled in the SPOA Newsletter over the years. They all involve the “free rent trick.” Click on the “Eviction issues” tab to read about the general legal and political landscape around evictions in Massachusetts

Here we discuss the issues involved in evictions in Massachusetts, which are often similar to other parts of the country. Click on the “Eviction horror stories” tab to read actual cases from the dozens of horror stories we have reported over the years. It’s all the “free rent trick,” and many tenants know how to [&hellip

A simple electrical cover plate is your ticket to free rent. It’s just like the ones in your apartment. INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE OF COVER PLATE 1. Simply unscrew one of the electrical cover plates in your apartment from the wall. It’s one screw. Presto! A code violation. 2. Now call the health inspector to redeem [&hellip

Below is a list of code violations cited against landlords on behalf of tenants playing the free rent trick, showing how minor the violations are. Only a few are serious ones. None of them justifies not paying the entire rent. Note how many of these could have been done deliberately by tenants. “Quotation marks” are [&hellip